The author argues persuasively that Marlowe, far from being a standard super-confident loner private eye, is connected to a larger society and is given to introspection and self-doubt in contrast to the rugged-individualist vigilantes of Daly, Hammett, and Spillane. He believes film versions of Marlowe in the 1940s distorted the character as a result of Production Code constraints and the inability of film to depict interior life. Chandler is defended against the supposed misreadings by his follower Ross Macdonald.

Jon L. Breen

The author argues persuasively that Marlowe, far from being a standard super-confident loner private eye, is connected to a larger society and is given to introspection and self-doubt in contrast to the rugged-individualist vigilantes of Daly, Hammett, and Spillane. He believes film versions of Marlowe in the 1940s distorted the character as a result of Production Code constraints and the inability of film to depict interior life. Chandler is defended against the supposed misreadings by his follower Ross Macdonald.